Lieutenant John A. Mead Political party Republican Preceded by Fletcher D. Proctor Name George Prouty | Governor Fletcher D. Proctor Party Republican Party Preceded by Charles H. Stearns Succeeded by John A. Mead | |
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Born March 4, 1862
Newport, Vermont ( 1862-03-04 ) Spouse(s) Henrietta Allen Prouty (1865 – 1929) Died August 18, 1918, Quebec City, Canada | ||
George Herbert Prouty (March 4, 1862 – August 18, 1918) of Newport, Orleans County, Vermont was a Republican member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1896 to 1897; a member of Vermont State Senate from 1904 to 1906; the 45th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont from 1906 to 1908; the 52nd Governor of Vermont from 1908 to 1910; and Delegate to the 1916 Republican National Convention.
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Biography
Born in Newport on March 4, 1862, Prouty was the son of John Azro Prouty and Hannah Barker Lamb Prouty. Besides his brother Charles, his siblings included brother Harley Hall Prouty and sister Nellie Barker Prouty, and two half-brothers, Edgar John Prouty and William Robert Prouty. William Robert Prouty was the father of Winston L. Prouty.
Educated in the public schools of Newport, Prouty attended St. Johnsbury Academy, graduated from Boston's Bryant & Stratton Commercial College, and was employed in the family business, Prouty and Miller, a sawmill and building supply company. He married Henrietta "Nettie" Allen of Rockville, Connecticut, on December 1, 1890. He was the uncle of United States Senator Winston Prouty, and the brother of Charles A. Prouty, Chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Progressive candidate for US Senator from Vermont in 1914.
Career
Active in the Republican party, he served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1896 to 1897. From 1904 to 1905 he was a member of the Vermont State Senate and served as Senate President. Prouty served as Lieutenant Governor from 1906 to 1908.
Prouty was elected on the Republican ticket Governor of Vermont in 1908 and served from October 8, 1908 to October 5, 1910. He favored employers' liability law, and during his administration, the state legislature adopted his suggestion to put the Vermont Railroad Commission under a Public Service Commission designed to supervise all public service corporations. In addition, a State Board of Education and a State Library Commission were founded.
Prouty made news when he posted bail for his chauffeur, who had been accused of striking and killing a St. Hyacinthe, Quebec man in Burlington during celebrations for the Lake Champlain Tercentenary.
During Prouty's governorship his Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) was Aaron H. Grout. Aaron Grout was the son of former Governor Josiah Grout.
Death and legacy
Prouty was killed in Waterville, Quebec on August 8, 1918 when his chauffeur driven car was hit by a train as he traveled from Newport to Lennoxville, Quebec to board a train he was going to take to a business meeting in Maine. He is interred at East Main Street Cemetery, Newport, Orleans County, Vermont.
George Prouty's home was commercially developed and operated for many years as the Governor Prouty Inn, and later turned into senior citizen housing called the Governor Prouty Apartments.